Palestinian factions Fatah, Hamas square off over Gaza pay cuts

What We’re Reading

Palestinian politics

Direct and indirect communications are underway between Fatah and Hamas leaders, a member of Fatah’s central committee said on Thursday, in order for the two movements to take “practical steps towards ending the conflict” between the two political factions, which was aggravated last weekend when the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) cut the salaries of their Gaza-based employees.

US-Israel relations

“We’re seeing an increase in efforts to stifle Palestine advocacy work,” said Rahul Saksena, staff lawyer at Palestine Legal. “One of the more recent trends is a shift towards state lawmakers to introduce and pass bills that aim to suppress or punish activism.”

Israeli politics

Arabs must go through a lengthy process to prove their loyalty to Israel that includes studying only censored versions of the Koran in order to obtain citizenship, according to a new English diplomatic plan released Thursday by Rabbi Yitzhak Zagha, who is running against incumbent Bayit Yehudi chairman Naftali Bennett in the party’s April 27 leadership race.

Gaza

Egyptian authorities should immediately disclose whether they are or were holding four Palestinian men from Gaza affiliated with Hamas whose whereabouts are unknown, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Interior Minister Magdy Abd al-Ghaffar. The Palestinians were taken away by armed men after crossing from Gaza to Egypt nearly 20 months ago.